Food was a central concern of what was to become home economics. One
of the movement's main goals was to use modern principles of science and
efficiency to supply this basic human need. In the nineteenth century,
the food supply was unreliable. The quality of basic ingredients such
as flour and sugar was inconsistent, and lack of refrigeration and the
absence of basic standards of sanitation meant that healthful plant and
animal food products were often not readily obtainable for most consumers.
Kitchen equipment was also primitive by today's standards; it was not
until after World War I that indoor plumbing, electricity, and gas stoves
became widely available. Cookbooks were only gradually coming into general
use, and most people continued to prepare food using traditional techniques
that were handed down from one generation to the next.

Starting
in the 1870s, cooking schools were established in a number of large east-coast
cities. One of the most famous of these was the Boston Cooking School.
Fannie Farmer was its best-known principal, and the school published an
influential magazine. Maria Parloa, who taught at the Boston Cooking School
in addition to managing her own school, was another important figure.
Thousands of homemakers flocked to classes at these establishments, eager
to learn how to prepare healthful and appetizing meals on a modest budget.

Other early home economists promoted a variety of rationalized, and even
utopian, schemes for food preparation. Ellen Richards, for example, founded
the New England Kitchen in 1890, which sold inexpensive and nutritious
food to working-class Bostonians for them to take home and eat. This experiment
was not a success, as the people targeted by Richards' plan resented the
implied paternalism of her efforts to improve their eating habits. The
New England Kitchen exemplified the shortcomings of home economists' approach
to food: in emphasizing nutritive value and convenience, too often they
did not sufficiently take into account the sensual, communal side of eating.
They also frequently sought to impose Anglo cooking styles on immigrant
and minority groups.

Home economists nonetheless did have an important impact on food and
nutrition practices in the United States. Faculty working in nutrition
departments in colleges of home economics made major research contributions
in the field of food science. Home economists also pursued careers as
nutrition educators, for example with the Cooperative Extension Service
of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and as dieticians in hospitals
and schools (see also the Hotel/ Restaurant/ Institution Management category).
Many home economists also wrote on nutrition and food preparation for
newspapers and women's magazines or went to work for the companies that
were manufacturing modern, reliable kitchen equipment and foodstuff, promoting
these products to a public eager to be free of the drudgery and uncertainty
of traditional cooking (see also the Retail/ Consumer Studies category).

The books and periodicals on this list are primarily works on food preparation
and nutrition education intended for a popular audience or for nutrition
educators. For nutrition science research, please see the Core Historical
Literature of Agriculture website (http://chla.library.cornell.edu).

- Martin Heggestad, Mann Library

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